Studgunners
03-18-2007, 05:35 PM
It just goes to show you what the Mid-Majors can do with proper seedings for a change. SIU gets a 4 seed and plays like it and on into the sweet 16, as does Butler as a 5 seed and UNLV with a 7.
For years and years, the mid-majors gaudey records were discounted as nothing more than smoke and mirrors and when they end up with an 8-12 seed and lose in round one (or two on occasion), the pundits say see, I told you so. But look what happens when they get a protected seed (less travel and lots more fans at the game), first class hotel accommodations (don't laugh, the teams get the better hotels based on their seedings at their pods and it can make a difference as those of you who travel on business can attest to) and a favorable first round matchup (i.e. a 12 or 13 seeded team). They prove they can take care of business just like a BCS school who gets the protected seed.
It'll be tough for SIU to advance past a team like Kansas, but it's not unthinkable as Bradley (another MVC team) proved last year and like George Mason proved in their run to the final 4 last year as a low seed.
But my point being that a mid-major who's ranked in the top 10-15 at the end of the year should get a 3-5 seed instead of a 7 seed like Nevada got this year or a 10 that Creighton got. Not to sound paranoid, but the deck really is stacked against the mid-majors and that's not the American way. Fairness is, or at least should be.
For years and years, the mid-majors gaudey records were discounted as nothing more than smoke and mirrors and when they end up with an 8-12 seed and lose in round one (or two on occasion), the pundits say see, I told you so. But look what happens when they get a protected seed (less travel and lots more fans at the game), first class hotel accommodations (don't laugh, the teams get the better hotels based on their seedings at their pods and it can make a difference as those of you who travel on business can attest to) and a favorable first round matchup (i.e. a 12 or 13 seeded team). They prove they can take care of business just like a BCS school who gets the protected seed.
It'll be tough for SIU to advance past a team like Kansas, but it's not unthinkable as Bradley (another MVC team) proved last year and like George Mason proved in their run to the final 4 last year as a low seed.
But my point being that a mid-major who's ranked in the top 10-15 at the end of the year should get a 3-5 seed instead of a 7 seed like Nevada got this year or a 10 that Creighton got. Not to sound paranoid, but the deck really is stacked against the mid-majors and that's not the American way. Fairness is, or at least should be.